Saving up for a trip to the islands was no small feat.  Lavalava Island was cheap, but it was also substantially closer to the mainland than Yoshi's Island was, far far away to the southwest towards Dinosaur Land.  It would take some time before Koopin and FG would get a chance to hop a cruise ship onboard, as well as the fact that they had to plan it during their next vacation time.
For the time being, James and Koopin resumed their daily jobs.  The raptor kept working at Roy's, still reliable and becoming very well-acquainted with the local patrons.  Koopin kept up with his paperwork at home while occasionally going out to various sites in order to assist or replace other tour guides.  Half the year Koopin would be travelling off elsewhere, and while they travelled together quite a few times, it was nowhere near the number of times Koopin would be off elsewhere for his work.
Not that FG minded, having his own duties at the bar as well as looking after the house.  Whenever Koopin was away, he would either busy himself with watching TV, work on his bike, or even practice his swordsmanship in the backyard.  At some point, during one month while Koopin was at a conference for the Tour Guide Association, the raptor had realised that he had barely practiced his weapon skills in all his travels.
Taking on a better responsibility, he made sure to train at least once a day with either the scissors or the hammer sticks.  At first it was out of boredom, but over time it became more of a routine.  His skills had thankfully remained sharp, but he still went through all of Glenn's teachings in his head.  He even still had his magic training once every few weeks at Bowser's castle under Kammy Koopa's discretion.  But he was cautious about doing magic in the backyard.  Fire had a tendency to swarm without cold stone walls to trap it in.
One day however, the phone rang in Koopin's house, prompting James to pause in his training to answer.
	"Yello?"
	"OH, hello James!"

A sweet motherly voice perked him up from the other end of the phone line.
	"Heeeey Klair, what's up?"
	"Oh I was actually looking for Koopin, is he around?"
	"Uhhhhh...actually he's away on a conference for a few days, sorry.  Want me to leave him a message for ya?"
	"Oh no no that's fine...oh dear..."
	"Is something wrong?"
	"Well, I'm having some trouble with the pipes at home, and I was rather hoping Koopin could come by and help.  Shelldon's away on business with that trader from Sarasaland and I don't want to call a plumber."
	"...you thought about calling Mario?"
	"Hhhahahahaha...aaaah I wish that was the first time I heard that today, but no, I'm rather worried about the price of repairs and all, they can be really expensive sometimes."
	"Well yanno I'm pretty good with pipes too, I used to do repairs back home in the bar I was at.  Heh, I even did one or two repairs at Roy's like last month, so I could come by."
	"Oh, would you?!" said Klair hesitantly.  "I don't want to be any trouble!"
	"Nah nah it's fine, I'll hop on the next train and get there around this afternoon?"
	"That would be wonderful!  I'll even treat you for being so kind, at least pay for the train fare.  See you soon!"
	"Bye!"
The raptor smiled at having a reason to get outside.  He left a note next to the phone in case Koopin returned home early, explaining the situation.  With that, he took off, deciding not to take his scissors, but only taking his satchel and shoulder-guard.
Several hours later of one train ride and desert-hiking, he arrived in Dusty Dunes, gulping back his frustration as he murmured:
	"Wish there was a goddamn warp pipe in this town...or at least for my nanos to make some fuckin' water...ugh..."
He drank up the last of his water from the old bottle he always kept on him, thanking silently the Himuro Mansion spirits for the parting gift.  Before he was able to recollect on his time back at the cold dusty manor, he found himself knocking on the Kennidons' door.  Klair opened with glee, her tender blue eyes beaming at him as she hugged.  She was wearing a pink-and-white apron over her shell-bellied front.
	"James!  So glad you could make it!  Thank you again for this, I'm so very grateful for this."
	"Hehehe, no problem Klair.  So uh, where's this pipe problem?"
	"Let me show you, come in dear."

Having 10 inches of height difference between them always made the raptor feel strangely indominating whenever he entered Klair's presence.  Despite her wonderful maternal aura, he always felt the strangest feeling that he could easily frighten her, which in turn caused him to become more humble and soft-spoken around her.  It worked however in earning her easily-gotten approval, as she lead him towards the kitchen.  He bent down to open the cabinets beneath and inspect the sink itself.
	"This sink here," she said, "it stopped yesterday and I was hoping it was just a clog but still nothing!"
	"Does the bathroom upstairs work?" asked James.
	"Mmhmm!  Sink, bath and toilet thank goodness."
	"Hah, yeah...so that means it's something in these pipes for sure, that's good, means I can fix this easy.  You got any tools?"
	"Yes, my husband's tools are in the closet, let me get them."
He waited while she fetched them, examining the pipes closely and trying to figure out the source of the problem.  Turning the taps provided nothing, not even the slightest drip of water.  Yet he could hear water somewhere in the pipes as Klair brought him a set of tools, allowing FG to get to work.
	"I'm surprised," said James, "that someone as smart as you would ask for help in fixing a sink."
	"Ha ha ha, ohhh you charmer, really?"
	"Yeah!  I mean you play the piano, you play the flute, you're an amazing chef, you're real talented!"
	"S-stop it, you're making me blush!  But yes, I just...never had a good head for technical details I'm sorry to say, that was all Shelldon's department.  I was always a little more..."
	"Artistic?"
	"Well yes!  Music I can understand, but pipes never.  Koopin's not bad at it too, but he certainly knows better than me."
	"Awww don't put yourself down, my foster mom was able to fix a lot of things."
	"Really?  What was she like?"

James briefly tried to suppress his need to go on about her, choosing the more honest terse answer as he began to unscrew the pipes one by one.
	"Not the warmest woman in the world.  Strong-armed, ran her business like an empire...kinda cold-hearted towards some people.  But she treated me well enough."
	"Oh..."
	"But she was real good with fixing things, I mean she can't put a car back together again but she taught me everything about fixing pipes and house maintenance."
	"Really?  ...could she play an instrument at all?"
	"Heh, nah."
	"Ahhh that explains it," said Klair sagely.  "Some people have the technical side of their brains working, and some others have the artistic side."
	"Heh, right.  Guess I got neither then."
	"Awwww that's not true!  You're helping with the pipes right now!  Have you found the problem yet?"
The raptor smirked at her attempt to boost his confidence, as he said:
	"Noooot yet.  All these pipes look okay to me so far...might be further down."
He reached further inside and started to feel for the main pipe that ran into the ground.  There was enough light for him to see as he began poking around further, trying to remove it along with the other pipes at his side.  Klair kept the conversation going with:
	"Koopin told me you were in the Mario Kart races last month, he said you won first place at Mario Raceway!"
	"Hehehe, yeaaaaah, you didn't see it?"
	"We didn't know!  But we'd love to see you in the next race, when is it?!"
	"Uhhh it's gonna be in the Yoshi Valley actually!  But I know the last race isn't far from here, some place called Kalimari Desert?"
	"OH, maybe I could come out for that one and cheer you on!"
	"Haha, really?!"
	"Why not?!  It'd be a lovely day out, a little something different."
	"Heh...I'd love that Klair...uh oh."
	"Wh-what?"
	"Ohhhh no."
FG had finally found the problem as he felt his claw slide along the bottom of the pipe.  He felt his clawfinger push through it, rubbing along some rather frayed edges.  With nervous expectation, he slowly unscrewed the pipe and revealed the problem, staring through the huge crack in the metal length towards Mrs. Kennidon.  Her heart sank.
	"Ohhhh...oh dear."
	"Yeaaaaah um...it's pretty fu-UH...cracked.  Youuuu are gonna have to buy a new one of these, you know anywhere that sells these?"
Klair shook her head despondently.
	"Not in this town, the pipes you have to order from the plumbing company and who knows how long that could take!  Oh this is awful, how am I going to clean the dishes?!  I can't clean them in the bathroom, that'd be just weird!"
	"Well...hold up, this company must have like a base somewhere right?  A headquarters?"
	"Yes, they um...they're in Shiver City I recall."
	"Hah, really?  Well yanno, that's not very far from Toad Town, I could get that for ya by tomorrow."
	"R-really?!"
	"Sure!  I've been there once, it's not that hard to get to."
	"Oh thank you James, thank you!"
She hugged him happily around the neck, now able to do so from the raptor's crouched position.  He blushed hotly at her warmth, sighing with content as he closed his eyes briefly.
God she's so warm, thought FG privately.  Koopin's so lucky to have a mom like her...I wonder if...wait...dude, no.  Don't even go there.
He stiffened his thoughts with a sudden shudder, which Klair noticed as he stood up after she released him.
	"Are you cold dear?"
	"N-no no I just...uh, was trying to remember something, haha...well uh...I could just head back now and try to get to Shiver City before the store closes or..."
	"Oh no no no, it'll be too late.  Tell you what, for coming all the way here and offering to help me out with so much, I'm going to take you out for a little shopping!"
	"...heh...I thought you were being careful with your money?"
	"A few treats is far less than a plumbing job, James.  Come on, it's on me, we don't often get to spend time together."
	"Well...I do enjoy spending time with you Klair...ah what the hell, come on then."

Dusty Dunes offered enough of a variety of stores due to its trading status.  James had spent little time checking out the stores in the area, merely seeing the market stalls that were out in the open.  The streets were always busy, with diligent stall-owners out and ready to shout out their wares.  Klair took FG around towards one particular street further into the town.  A fine row of shops, actual shops instead of stalls, awaited them.  Clothes, toys, movies, books, even ice cream was available.  He was rather surprised at such a variety.
	"Woah I never seen this street before," said the raptor.
	"Did Koopin never show you?!" said Klair.  "I thought he would at least once."
	"Yeah but the only reason we ever come here is because of you or Shelldon so uh, I didn't get much time to explore."
	"Awww well now you do!  Come on!"
She dragged him happily by the hand towards the clothes store, the raptor already dreading what he would be forced to wear.  Thankfully she only bought him one T-shirt, while she herself bought two.  They both tried out a variety of clothes, while James avoided wearing anything green before settling on a summer yellow shirt.  Klair herself bought a large faded blue shirt that covered her entire body, preferring looser clothes in the heat of the day, as well as a purple bra.  James desperately tried not to look before they left.
The toy store wasn't particularly interesting, sadly, due to the rather simplistic nature of the world, but James did have a private squee of joy at playing with a few toy blasters.  The movie store only gave him an interesting perspective on the entertainment of the Mushroom Kingdom, ranging from romance such as "My Kuribo" to horror such as "The Dark Moon".  Books were similar, which James was less interested in, but Klair was enraptured with when she bought a cheap copy of the original "My Kuribo" novelisation.
	"Don't tell my husband okay?" she asked sweetly.
	"My lips are sealed."
	"Heeheehee!  Come on, let's get some ice cream.  Soooo do you and Koopin have any plans in the future?"
	"Wellll he kinda wants to really go on this trip to Yoshi's Island."
	"Awwww...you don't have enough money?"
	"I kinda spent all mine on the bike, and Koopin's gotta keep his flowing into the house so...heh, maybe one day in future.  I was actually kinda hoping I'd get enough again to make it like a second anniversary gift."
	"Oh that would be wonderful!  ...hmmmm..."

She pondered to herself softly, making the raptor look at her rather curiously before she asked:
	"Is there a reason why he wanted to go to Yoshi's Island?"
	"Well he's still doing this whole martial arts world warrior thing, and one of them's at the island apparently.  We can take our time, there's no rush, but...it'd be a real nice place to go and enjoy ourselves too."
	"Of course, haha...he always did love the islands, the sea."
	"Heh, tell me about it, half the time he talks about anywhere in the world, it's always the sea."
	"Hmhmhmhm, yes...always the sea."
For the briefest moment, James saw a small flicker of worry in Klair's eyes.  Her mouth opened softly as if she were about to murmur something, before falling silent.  He quickly tried to change the subject just in case.
	"...heh, yanno I uh...never imagined having this kinda life."
	"What do you mean?"
	"Well, having a job, staying in a house with a wonderful boyfriend, still managing to treat ourselves and have a LOT of vacation time.  I mean seriously, I've been everywhere in this kingdom at LEAST three times, it's incredible!"
	"Was it difficult to travel back home?  In Dinosaur Land?"
	"Uhhhh...more like nowhere to travel TO really."
	"But it's right next to Yoshi's Island."
	"Well, exactly.  You don't have to travel very far, everything's all kind of...tightly clustered in together."
	"Ahhh...you know...just a funny thought."
	"Yeah?"
	"OH, there's the ice cream, I'll tell you after we have it, just sit tight here.  What flavour would you like?"
	"Anything not lemon or lime."
	"Heehee, of course, back in a bit!"
She guided him to a stone bench as he sat back and waited for Klair.  Taking in the sun softly with his new yellow shirt, James closed his eyes and cleared his mind smoothly, his only interruption being a shy guy nearby, his clipped voice cutting into his head.
	"Hello sir, would you like a watermelon?"
	"Noooo thank you, I don't have money."
	"Alright, sorry, good day to you."
I swear that guy asked me last year, thought James to himself.  A few minutes later, Klair sat beside him with two popsicles in hand, both of which were orange.
	"Here you go!"
	"Oooh thanks!"
He eagerly began to lick away at the popsicle, enjoying the cold dripping juices on a hot desert day.  Klair was about to enjoy hers when she gave James a small black wallet.
	"Oh, you dropped this by the way."
	"Hmm?  ...I don't have a wallet."
	"Really?  A lady told me you did, said it fell out of your pocket."
	"...huh."
He cautiously opened it with one hand, finding nothing but a small piece of paper hastily stuffed into it.  He held the frozen popsicle in his mouth and quickly opened the paper, his eyes widening at the message within.

YOU WILL PAY

It seemed to be only half of it however, the paper having being torn from its original piece judging by the tear at the end.  He quickly put the wallet away in his satchel before Klair had a chance to see the paper, trying to calm down and enjoy his popsicle.  He hastily ran through his mind for any moments of any blackouts he may have had.  None so far in this world other than a few sudden attacks.  He hoped it would remain that way.
	"Something wrong dear?"
	"Uhhh yeah.  No actually I uh just remembered this wallet was new, I bought it real recently so you're right, it musta fallen out of my pocket."
	"And you have no money in it?!  Tut-tut-tut, you should always put a few coins in a wallet, it's bad luck to have one empty."
	"Heh, yeah...guess it is.  Um, didn't you have something to tell me before?"
	"OH, yes, um...I don't know if Koopin would be up to this but if he's looking for a cruise ship, Shelldon and I are planning to go together in a few months, to celebrate our own anniversary actually!"
	"Ohhhh congrats!  ...wait."
	"Wouldn't it be lovely if the two of you could come along?"
	"Awwww...Klair, no, I don't wanna butt in on something special to you and Shelldon, I really appreciate it but-"
	"Oh no no it's a couples-only thing!  Some friends of mine, a lovely barbershop group who'll be performing there, they said they were able to get me some tickets for me and Shelldon.  Iiii pulled a few favours."
	"Hahaha wow, you're like some kind of celebrity!"
	"HAHA nooooo I just know a lot of people and made a lot of friends!  I COULD always try and get two extra tickets maybe?  It WOULD be after your anniversary though sooooo..."
	"...oh jeez...i-if you could, that'd be awesome.  But if you can't, it's okay, really.  Koopin didn't mention anything about you guys going on a cruise though."
	"No?  Hmhm, must have forgotten, silly Koopin.  Sometimes I think he knows too much about the world that he gets lost in what he knows about it, haha!"
	"Heh, yeah he sure loves that geography, everytime we're out somewhere I can see him just BEGGING to tell me stuff about the place."
	"Oh he's always been like that, ever since he was in school and picked up a book!"
	"Ohhhhhhh...you got any embarrassing pictures of when he was little?"
	"...I'm a mother, what do YOU think?"
Klair smirked with a devious grin, giggling happily before pushing James' shoulder playfully as they began talking about Koopin's childhood.  James was thankful for the distraction, not needing to remember anything about the mysterious wallet until he returned home.
Koopin returned home a few days later, sometime after James had brought a pipe from Shiver City and fixed Klair's plumbing completely, all of which he explained to Koopin in their downtime.  He did not however mention the embarrassing childhood stories he heard, or Klair's offer to earn them tickets.  Or the threatening message in the wallet.  Not that it would have mattered, since Koopin was already aware of one of these three things.

He had dreamed of this place many times before in his life.  He had always dreamt of the same form, and of the same path.  The moment he felt the water embrace him, he knew where to go.  Koopin swam deeper and ever downwards, the sounds of the infinite blue muted all around him.  He felt his arms become nimble, dexterous, and yet without any feeling in his fingers.  For a brief moment, he lifted up his arms before him.  White tentacles.  He had returned to the sea.  Weightless.  Peace.
A calm balance reigned in his mind, of a simpler time and a simpler age.  Feeling all of his limbs push out behind him with every motion, he soon saw the bottom of the ocean floor.  He guided himself, seeing his fellow brethren swim past him, their black-masked eyes blinking happily towards him.  No words were spoken.  The sea spoke for them.  Cradled them.  Guided them.  It would guide him now towards a place he had dreamt of before.  That place, beyond the rock shaped like a four-pointed star.
Koopin separated from the others, who simply looked towards the place he would go.  A passage within the rock underwater, the warm waters beneath a tropical sun soothing his soul from above.  His mind flickered with imagery from above, of what he had seen in his past life.  Or was it his future life?  He knew he had once been a koopa, or had he once been a blooper?  Memories blended together into a dreamlike weave, palm trees and beaches drifting through his mind like sand through the hourglass.

He headed into the rock.  A small water passage that soon bent upwards into a large cavernous tunnel within.  He found himself climbing out, as his limbs began to recede, losing their dexterous cold wet feeling.  Body warmth returned to him, as did the feeling in his fingers.  He stood upon the rocky shore, staring back at the water pool that illuminated the cavern in brief streaks of blue light.  A mourning wistfulness came to his mind, before a voice spoke to him.
	"Come."
He walked towards the tunnel, his steps not making a sound.  Water dripped off of his body, sleekly from his shell.  He never felt it, for in his dreams, water was like a second skin.  A light soon began to glow, as he reached halfway through the cavern passage.  Warm firelight, which made him hesitant.  But the voice boomed into his mind.
	"Come to me."
He could not refuse.  He could never refuse.  He would forever trust the voice that spoke in his dreams of water.  Deep, yet humble with an aged grace.  He reached beyond the boundary of two torches upon the wall, before a heavenly radiance beamed unto him.  A bright golden light that blinded his vision, completely overpowering him as he soon saw nothing else.  All he could hear, was the voice booming straight in front of him.
	"Welcome home...my child."
	"I...am I home?" asked Koopin thoughtlessly.
	"Soon you shall return.  I await your embrace, Koopin.  Just as I have embraced you before."
	"Yes...embrace...I want to return to the sea again."
	"You shall.  Your journey is not yet over.  Only half of it have you achieved."
	"Where do I go now?"
	"Follow the gift of the mother.  Follow across the sea..."
The voice soon changed itself, from the benevolent deep to that of a cruel monster.
	"And you will burn."
The fires from the torches grew on either side of him, his vision returning just enough to see the flames consume him.  A burning heat rose in his body before he awoke.

In his half-awake state, he roused from his sleep early in the morning, eyes blinking foggily as James continued to sleep beside him.  The smallest murmur confirmed it much to his relief:
	"Nnnnn...no Kruz...don't take my shiny...I'll suck yerfrmrmrmrmrrrrr..."
Koopin cautiously bent his head over towards the small bedside table on his side of the bed, gently opening it to find a black wallet.  Someone had given it to him, a parting gift for coming to the conference.  At first he appreciated it, until he had opened it to find a piece of torn paper on the inside.  He needed to make sure.  He opened the wallet again and read the torn piece of paper inside.

AND YOU WILL BURN

With paranoia clashing against his own confusion, he struggled to return to sleep, trying to remember the soothing deep voice of the sea he always dreamed of.

A few months later, James and Koopin were soon standing on the dock in front of a luxurious large white cruise ship.  It took quite a bit of convincing, according to Klair, but somehow she had managed to score two extra tickets to have James and Koopin join them on their cruise.  James wasn't sure whether to call it luck, fate, or just pure kindness.  Koopin was extremely hesitant to want to accept such a perfect gift, but his mother always knew how to convince him to accept it.  They had to pinch each other to make sure it wasn't a dream.
The two of them also had their bags full of various things needed on their trip, as well as wearing some rather fine suits.  Koopin already had a rather official-looking suit as he always wore for more important meetings with the Tour Guide Association, a rather boring grey.  But James had to buy his in the form of a somewhat-cheap white suit.
	"This feels way too perfect," said James.
	"Heh, yer telling me." said Koopin.
	"And I feel ridiculous."
	"Well you should have bought a black suit."
	"I'm going on a cruise, not getting married."
	"Not yet."
Koopin giggled with a smirk as James grimaced playfully, before saying:
	"Anyways I like white better, it's more unusual."
	"Yeah I gotta say James, I've never seen you in a suit before and...yeah you don't look that great."
	"Well thank you for the support.  We really should be thankful though, your mum is amazing with all these people she knows."
	"Well she knows a lot of people!  Lots of musicians all over the land, she can pull in a lot of favours."
	"Heh...my mum had a different way of pulling in favours."
	"Oh?"
	"The kind the Pianta Syndicate would be familiar with."
	"...oh."
	"...something wrong?"

James had noted Koopin's rather odd mood the moment the cruise opportunity came up.
	"N-no, why?"
	"Just...this is kind of EXACTLY what you needed, I was expecting you to be way more excited.  I mean I know I couldn't do much for our second anniversary bu-"
	"Oh no no no, this more than makes up for it, don't worry!  I mean you DID try to cook and I appreciate the thought."
	"It's...not even from me, it's from your mum."
	"But stillll you're coming along with me!  That's enough of a gift for me."
	"Awwww."
He kissed Koopin upon the head, the two of them blushing slightly before the koopa added:
	"...I still don't understand how you burnt a salad though."
	"Oh my god I just wanted to make it WARM, okay?!  My fire got a bit out of control!"
	"Pffffhehehehe, I'm just glad you could make water too or else I'd be REALLY worried about my house."
	"...I said I was sorry."
	"That's okay, you DID buy me new tea towels AND the pizza we had later."
	"Y-yeah...oh, there they are!"
The raptor pointed out towards two smartly-dressed koopas coming along the dockyard with their bags in tow.  Klair was wearing a raspberry-coloured dress along with a necklace made of pearls, whilst Shelldon was in a rather neat-looking blue suit.  Klair hugged both of them, whilst Shelldon hugged his son and shook James' hand.
	"Hiiii you made it!" said the mother.
	"So good to see you!" said Koopin.  "Thank you so much for this mom, this is REALLY wonderful of you."
	"Nothing is too good for my little Shelly."
	"M-moooom, don't call me that!"
	"Whassat mean?" asked James.
	"Oh," added Shelldon, "his middle name's Shellacque."
	"...pft...pfffffhhhhehehehehehehehe, hhhhahahahahaha, HA HA HA, Shellacque?!  THAT'S your middle name!?!"
	"I-i-it's just a name!" said Koopin while blushing.  "Mom named me after her favourite composer."
	"I'm just glad I could get Koopin in," said Shelldon, "otherwise your first name WOULD have been Shellacque."
	"Pffft oh god," said James, "that's amazing, that really is."
	"Not a bad suit James.  White suit goes well with a cruise ship."
	"Yeah well...the black was too expensive so..."
	"Ahhh.  Right then, are we all ready?!"
	"You bet!  Let's go!"
The four of them headed on board together, joining the rest of the passengers.  Out of all the times they would ever be on a ship, it would be their most eventful for other reasons alone.